The UFC are reportedly seeking a replacement for Bobby Green, and have just over a week to do so. Despite it being the co-main event, Hooker and Green were scheduled for five rounds.

Hooker finally returned to action earlier this year in July, as he took on Jalin Turner at UFC 290. Originally the two were set to fight in March, but Hooker withdrew due to a broken hand.

In his fight with Turner, Hooker suffered a broken arm after absorbing a front kick in round one, the same injury that has ruled him out of his fight with Green.

If Green is able to stay on the card, he will look to continue an impressive 2023 thus far. His last outing came against Grant Dawson in October, where he scored a huge upset win in just over 30 seconds.

UFC Austin takes place on December 2nd from the Moody Center. The fight night is headlined by highly ranked lightweights, Beneil Dariush and Arman Tsarukyan.

Other bouts on the card include:

• Rob Font vs. Deiveson Figueiredo
• Sean Brady vs. Kelvin Gastelum
• Punahele Soriano vs. Dustin Stolzfus
• Khalil Rountree vs. Azamat Murzakanov
• Clay Guida vs. Joaquim Silva
• Miesha Tate vs. Julia Avila
• Cody Brundage vs. Zachary Reese
• Joe Solecki vs. Drakkar Klose
• Steve Garcia vs. Melquizael Costa
• Rodolfo Bellato vs. Ihor Potieria
• Wellington Turman vs. Jared Gooden
• Veronica Hardy vs. Jamey-Lyn Horth

The post Dan Hooker Out Of UFC Austin Co-Main Event With Reccurring Arm Injury appeared first on Cageside Press.

Having a likely main event already in place, the latest addition to the Pay-Per-View show is a heavyweight affair pitting New Zealand’s Justin Tafa (7-3, 1NC) against Brazilian Marcos Rogerio de Lima (21-9-1).

“Pezao” de Lima confirmed the booking following an initial report by MMA Fighting.

Tafa, 29, goes by the nickname “Bad Man” and has proven to be just that, securing a finish by KO/TKO in all seven of his professional victories. Most recently, he picked up a win over Austen Lane in his second fight with the Contender Series alum, after the first ended in a No Contest due to an accidental eye poke.

Marcos Rogerio de Lima will be looking to bounce back from a stunning loss at the hands of Derrick Lewis this past July. That setback snapped a two-fight win streak.

Though not officially announced by the promotion, rumors of UFC 298 being hosted in both Los Angeles and Australia have made the rounds. Promotion president and CEO Dana White previously revealed that featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski would defend his 145lb title against Ilia Topuria in February, a fight almost certain to headline the UFC 298 card.

Thus far, only three fights have been reported for the event set to take place on February 17, 2024. They are:

Alexander Volkanovski (c) vs. Ilia Topuria — for the UFC Featherweight Championship
Danny Barlow vs. Yusaku Kinoshita
Marcos Rogério de Lima vs. Justin Tafa

The post Justin Tafa vs. Marcos Rogerio de Lima Lined Up for UFC 298 appeared first on Cageside Press.

Let’s take a look at what could be next for Allen, along with the other standout winners on the night.

Brendan Allen

“All In” Allen’s last loss was back in 2021, and you’d have to go back six fights to get there. The 27-year-old has put on an incredibly impressive streak of performances, scoring a rear-naked-choke win in four of his last four fights, tying the longest active submission record.

There is no doubt that since that loss to Chris Curtis two years ago, the Louisiana product has improved leaps and bounds, and now finds himself ranked in the top 10 at 185lbs, above the aforementioned “Action Man”.

Allen is now in a position where he is knocking on the door of the top five, in a division that has seemingly been screaming out for new title contenders for the past few years. The submission artist has already shared the cage with the current champion, Sean Strickland, in which he was finished, but that was going back to 2020. Strickland will defend his title against Dricus Du Plessis, who you could say would be a favourable matchup for Allen and his grappling upside.

With the rest of the top five already being booked into fights, there is one name that stands out more than most for me, and that is, Marvin Vettori.

The Italian is seemingly struggling to find a fight and this one makes perfect sense. He is coming off a loss to Jared Cannonier and needs to defend his ranking.

Allen’s Next Fight: Marvin Vettori 

Michael Morales

When thinking of the most impressive prospects in the UFC, Michael Morales must be a name that comes very close to the top of the list.

The 24-year-old now boasts a professional record of 16-0, with four of those coming under the UFC banner. Jake Matthews proved to be his toughest outing thus far, but the Ecuadorian showed a different side to his style, and proved to be the better fighter over a technical three rounds.

That is now back-to-back wins over fighters with 15 or more UFC fights, providing the youngster with integral experience.

Despite being just 24-years-old, it seems as though Morales is ready for the next step in his UFC tenure. There are several fighters inside the top 15 who make sense for him moving forward.

Of course, when talking about welterweight prospects who are nearing the rankings, Neil Magny’s ears must run hot. “The Haitian Sensation” is already booked to fight Canadian prospect, Mike Malott though.

The occupant of rank 15 though, is someone Morales has been slated to fight previously but due to injury, he had to withdraw from the scheduled bout. Rinat Fakhretdinov could make a lot of sense again now, being as though he sits upon a ranking that Michael Morales could be coming for.

Morales’ Next Fight: Rinat Fakhretdinov  

Chase Hooper

“The Dream” Chase Hooper marked his second lightweight outing with another extremely impressive performance. In this one, he had to face some early adversity when he was rocked with some heavy Leavitt ground-and-pound. From there though, he was able to win the grappling exchanges, subsequently getting the first round sub.

Before the fight, Hooper told Cageside Press, that he wanted to enter the unofficial ‘best grappler in the lightweight division rankings’ and with the rear-naked-choke, he may have done exactly that.

With him looking increasingly more comfortable with each 155lb outing, the 24-year-old will likely want to take a little bit of time off as he and his wife expect a baby.

With that being Hooper’s 8th UFC fight despite only being 24-years-old, there is no reason to try and rush him up the rankings of the lightweight division.

Someone who I think could be a fun next matchup for Hooper, is Lando Vannata. Despite his recent skid, the losses have come to some of the higher echelon fighters in the division.

Hooper’s Next Fight: Lando Vannata

Payton Talbott

After a highly impressive performance on the Contender Series earlier this year, Talbott came into his UFC debut with a lot of eyes on him.

The 25-year-old didn’t disappoint as he put on another emphatic performance, submitting Nick Aguirre in the final round. It is going to very interesting to see Talbott’s UFC career unfold.

Selfishly I would love to see a fight between Payton Talbott and Da’Mon Blackshear, however that’s quite farfetched for Talbott’s second UFC outing. A fight that would be more realistic would be, Dan Argueta.

Talbott’s Next Fight: Dan Argueta

Amanda Ribas

The Brazilian striker bounced back from her loss to Maycee Barber, with a great third round KO over Luana Pinheiro, in her strawweight return.

Once again Ribas showed a full arsenal of striking, and began her final finishing sequence with a picture perfect spinning wheel kick, which wobbled and subsequently dropped Pinheiro.

With Ribas hoping for a resurgence at strawweight, there is female who is on her rise up the rankings, and sits just one spot behind Ribas. That is Loopy Godinez who has continued impressing. That is a fight I could see next.

Ribas’ Next Fight: Loopy Godinez

Myktybek Oralbai

Marking his UFC debut with a second round finish was, Myktybek Oralbai. The Kirghiz native had a slow round one against the powerful, Uros Medic, but was able to capitalise with his grappling advantage in round two.

There are plenty options for the 25-year-old, but one I’m keen on is, Ange Loosa.

Oralbai’s Next Fight: Ange Loosa

The post What’s Next: UFC Vegas 82 Winners appeared first on Cageside Press.

Paul Craig

Scottish submission savant Paul Craig got utterly stymied in his first main event opportunity, and his second middleweight fight in the UFC, when he ran into Brendan Allen. Craig still is ranked at 185-lbs and should fight another ranked middleweight with his 1-1 divisional record.

The only option ranked under him currently who is not booked is Anthony ‘Fluffy’ Hernandez. ‘Fluffy’ has a similar style to Brendan Allen in some ways; he can strikes but prefers to press forward, wrestle, and hunt a finish on the ground. Craig is more than willing to engage their due to his jiu-jitsu, but has been beaten there a few times now. To stay ranked he will need to prove he can grow as a fighter and overcome this hurdle.

Craig’s Next Fight: Anthony Hernandez

Jake Matthews

Matthews continued his recent streak of trading wins and losses when he lost by decision to undefeated prospect Michael Morales in UFC Vegas 82’s co-main event. The Australian has been a mainstay of the UFC welterweight division for a long time, building an impressive 12-7 record in the promotion. He has long put on exciting fights, making him a man consistently tapped for relatively big fights given his unranked status.

He will have to rebound from this loss, but the options are endless. Fighters like Max Griffin, Santiago Ponzinibbio, and Daniel Rodriguez have all lost two of their last three fights, just like Jake. All of these fighters could make for an exciting striking battle but also have well-rounded skills. Perhaps most sensible would be Max “Pain” Griffin, who also lost to Michael Morales in his last fight, putting him and Jake on a relatively even playing field in terms of their divisional position.

Matthews’ Next Fight: Max Griffin

Jordan Leavitt

Jordan ‘The Monkey King’ Leavitt chased a leg lock against submission specialist Chase Hooper, got his back taken, and got choked out to lose. He took it in good spirits as ever, made easier by his still-winning record in the UFC of 4-3. Leavitt could fight any number of athletes in the stacked lightweight waters.

Chilean fighter Ignacio Bahamondes has a similar record in the UFC of 3-2, but brings an entirely different style to the table with his electric kickboxing. That fight would be a true clash of styles and give one man back an upward trajectory in the division after both lost their last fight.

Leavitt’s Next Fight: Ignacio Bahamondes

Nick Aguirre

Aguirre had success early but ultimately lost to prospect Payton Talbott in his second of two UFC bouts. His back is against the wall now and he will need to win his next fight in order to keep his job with the promotion. He will be matched against a fellow inexperienced fighter again, many of whom just won contracts on the newest season of Dana White’s Contender Series.

Victor Hugo was meant to debut two weeks ago against Daniel Marcos but his weight miss caused the bout to be canceled. Marcos still needs to compete in his first UFC fight, and if he can get his weight in order then perhaps Aguirre would be a good opponent.

Aguirre’s Next Fight: Victor Hugo

Luana Pinheiro

Ninth-ranked strawweight Luana Pinheiro lost for the first time in the UFC to hard-nosed veteran Amanda Ribas. After comfortably winning the first round, Pinheiro lost all momentum as Ribas’ pace, pressure, and toughness wore her down until Amanda got the finish in the third. Pinheiro still has a future at strawweight, especially since the fight before this was a win over veteran contender Michelle Waterson-Gomez, but will probably need to dip her toes into the unranked waters before coming back to fighting ranked foes.

Two unranked strawweights on two-fight UFC winning streaks are Loma Lookboonmee and Viktoria Dudakova. Lookboonmee is a Muay Thai specialist who is developing a well-rounded skillset and got her first career submission in her last fight. Dudakova is undefeated at 8-0, two fights into her UFC contract. With under ten fights, perhaps it would be better to build Viktoria up slower and give Lookboonmee the opportunity to fight for a ranked spot against Pinheiro.

Pinheiro’s Next Fight: Loma Lookboonmee

Uroš Medić

Uroš Medić’s two-fight winning streak was snapped as he lost for the first time in his new division, welterweight, against short notice debutant Myktybek Orolbai Uulu. Medić old weakness to grappling got exposed as the Kygystani fighter took him down and submitted the Serb in the second round.

Medić’s fight before this one still proved he can be a force in the division as he beat the more experienced and strongly favored Matt Semelsberger in an all-out war. Uroš has shown to be all-action, just like fellow welterweight Li Jingliang, who would make a perfect opponent for his next fight coming off of his loss to Daniel Rodriguez. No matter what card it appears on, that fight would be a surefire ‘Fight of the Night’ shortlist member.

Medić’s Next Fight: Li Jingliang

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No Fight of the Night was named at the Fight Night show, which got off to an early start on Saturday afternoon (or morning, if you were on the west coast). Four Performance of the Night awards, however, were issued, including one to main event middleweight Brendan Allen.

Earning his sixth straight victory to cement himself as a real contender at 185lbs, Allen locked up a rear-naked choke on Scotland’s Paul Craig just over 30 seconds into round number three. Craig was forced to tap, giving Allen five rear-naked choke submissions in his current six-fight win streak.

Additional Performance of the Night bonuses at UFC Vegas 82 went to Joanderson Brito, Amanda Ribas, and Jeka Saragih. Brazil’s Ribas mounted a comeback victory in her strawweight match-up with Luana Pinheiro, after being pieced up in the opening round. Fellow Brazilian Brito, meanwhile, called for a bonus after his ninja choke submission win over Jonathan “JSP” Pearce to close out the preliminary card.

Brito had some pointed criticism, complaining previous finishes had gone unrewarded.

As for Jeka Saragih, his UFC Vegas 82 knockout of favorite Lucas Alexander, who missed weight for their featherweight fight, was historic, as he became the first UFC fighter from Indonesia to earn a win in the organization.

All four bonus-winning fighters will pocket an extra $50,000 for their efforts, on top of their fight purse, outfitting pay, etc.

The post UFC Vegas 82 Sees Four Performance Bonuses Awarded, Including Headliner Allen appeared first on Cageside Press.

It’s somewhat strange to both write and read that sentence, given Craig was so well-known as a light heavyweight throughout his UFC run. But having made the move to middleweight, Craig had already been earning dividends, and landed in his first-ever main event for the UFC against Allen, a former LFA champ.

“All In” Allen isn’t one to talk trash or dazzle anyone outside the cage, but inside the octagon, his skill, especially on the ground, has proven sublime. Five straight wins at 185, and four of those by submission (all four rear-naked chokes) show exactly what Brendan Allen is about.

Of course, Paul Craig has been no slouch on the ground either over the years. Making for a very promising match-up atop UFC Vegas 82.

In the co-main event, meanwhile, Australian welterweight Jake Matthews took on undefeated Brazilian standout Michael Morales.

Following UFC Vegas 82 on Saturday, November 18, 2023, tune in for the post-fight press conference to stay on top of all the latest developments. A live stream of the affair is available in the embed above.

The post UFC Vegas 82: Allen vs. Craig Post-Fight Press Conference Live Stream appeared first on Cageside Press.

Myktybek Orolbai
Standing at five-foot-ten
Fighting at 170 lbs (welterweight)
25-years-old
Fighting out of Osh, Kyrgyzstan
Training out of Team Alpha Male
A pro record of 11-1
6 KO/TKOs, 4 Submissions

How Orolbai will fare in the UFC:

Orolbai started off fighting in Kyrgyzstan, where he’s originally from, but he has since moved to the US and trains out of Team Alpha Male. Orolbai’s last three fights have been in the LFA cage and he’s gone 3-0. What’s helped his case is he’s coming off a highlight-reel knockout. It’s a good thing he landed that because his prior tape isn’t all too exciting.

I like the signing of Orolbai especially on short notice. Some may say he’s some sort of striker but he’s a serious wrestler. Orolbai is a strong wrestler who could just muscle guys around. I don’t rate his grappling all too high but he’s mauling with ground and pound and is heavy on top. Once he gets on the inside with his hands locked he’s a problem to get away from. It seems like he can fight at a hard wrestling pace for three rounds.

Striking, he’s limited. Orolbai throws a one-two and has a dangerous overhand. He’s not out-striking anyone from a technical standpoint. He will overwhelm guys with his pressure and his power. He can put the lights out with one punch. I’ll say everyone he’s beaten is low-level. The only truly good fighter Orolbai has fought, he lost to. Orolbai is good but there is no proof he’s UFC-level. I can see him as mid-tier right in the division. I don’t think his striking and other fundamentals are good enough to reach a top 15 or anything.

How he matches up with Medic:

I like Medic a lot more than I thought I would when he came to the UFC. Orolbai has the potential to catch Medic but he has to wrestle this fight. Medic isn’t bad on the mat but it’s a grey area as he’s not as confident.

On the feet though Medic is nasty. Orolbai is basic at striking whereas Medic is throwing a ton of output giving a lot of different looks. Medic throws in straights, volume, power, goes to the body, and mixes in a lot of kicks. He should be too much to handle for Orolbai. Orolbai could bring in a heavy wrestling pace but I can’t be sure he does that nor do I believe he can close the distance effectively. I like Medic by TKO.

The post Welcome to the UFC: Myktybek Orolbai appeared first on Cageside Press.

“I did quite a bit of research and he’s a wrestler. It’s like classic striker versus wrestler matchup,” Talbott told reporters on Wednesday.

“Did a lot of studying. Watched him talk in his interviews, and I got a pretty good feel for who he is.”

Talbott did see that Aguirre has respect for him and doesn’t just see him as a debuting fighter who he can easily add to his resume.

“I thought it was really refreshing to see that he has an accurate depiction of the fight, and he’s not just like writing me off as like another dude that he’s going to KO. So that was cool to see,” said Talbott.

“He’s prepared for 15 minutes of hell and I am as well.”

Coming off the Contender Series and making his debut at UFC Vegas 82 Talbott knows he’ll have to grow up in the promotion.

“There’s still a lot of room for improvement and I’m making improvements with every fight,” he said.

Talbott’s friends and family compare him to Sean O’Malley, who is Talbott’s dream opponent, and he spoke on the new bantamweight champ.

“I thought it was pretty cool to watch and extremely surprising. He was doing very small things throughout the first round that were paying dividends throughout the fight that Aljo just didn’t pick up on,” he said.

“I think it was very well deserved and I’m happy to see that he has the belt now with how cool and marketable he is as a person.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Payton Talbott above. He takes on Nick Aguirre at UFC Vegas 82.

The post Payton Talbott Prepared For 15 Minutes Of Hell appeared first on Cageside Press.

“I’m a huge underdog and I know that. Lot of the pressure is on him,” Aguirre told reporters on Wednesday.

“They expect him to make a highlight out of me. They keep comparing him to Sean O’Malley. I know what that is, and I just need to go out there and shut all that sh*t down.”

Even with the hype Aguirre was not backing down from the fight. It’s anyone, anywhere, and anytime.

“I’m down to fight anyone and I think I showed the UFC that. I took the (Dan) Argueta fight on 5 days notice. No questions right away,” Aguirre said.

“This fight, I know he’s the biggest hyped guy in the Contender Series this year. I took that fight in a second. I’m here to compete, I’m here to be the best, so I’m not scared to fight anybody.”

All the talk about hype and pressure aside Aguirre knows Talbott is very good and expects a tough fight.

“It’s going to be a dog fight. He is good. He has a lot of talent, but I’m real good too. I don’t know if he really thinks I am. I don’t know if he respects me that way, but I’m going to show him how much talent I have,” he said.

“It’s going to be a dog fight and I’m ready for 15 minutes of hell.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Nick Aguirre above. He takes on Payton Talbott at UFC Vegas 82.

The post Nick Aguirre Not Buying Talbott “Sean O’Malley” Comparisons appeared first on Cageside Press.

“We lived together 2012, 2013 I think, some part of 2014,” Pinheiro told reporters through a translator on Wednesday.

“Live (under) the same roof. Used to go out together weekends. I remember!”

With the history they have Pinheiro said she wishes this fight had a lot more on the line.

“I obviously would not ever choose this fight to happen except for a belt. I wish this fight was for a belt. It is weird the fact that we lived together. We’re friends, we hung out together, and we never though that this could happen. Specially now,” Pinheiro said.

“I think it’s one of the beauties in fighting and in MMA.”

At the end of the day it’s not personal between the two fighters.

“I’m not fighting Amanda the person. I’m fighting Amanda Ribas the fighter. So after the fight we’re going to hug each other and we’ll continue with that. That’s the name of the game,” said Pinheiro.

With two ranked strawweights fighting to move up towards a title shot the fight is expected to deliver.

“I think it’s going to be a good fight. It’s going to be a good fight because she presses forward, and she goes at it. She really looks for a fight, and I really think you’re going to see an actual MMA fight,” she said.

“A very complete fight. It’s an opportunity for us to showcase everything that we trained for, everything that we are, and I’m very excited about the fight.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Luana Pinheiro above. She takes on Amanda Ribas at UFC Vegas 82.

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